Author: Marlen Limpag
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If you’ve ever been caught in a cloudburst, when huge drops of rain suddenly fall on you, multiply that feeling a thousand times and you know what it’s like to stand under Kawasan Falls in Cebu, Philippines. The tallest of the seven Kawasan Falls is just the right height and has just enough volume to…
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We arrived as the fight raged on. Although it was only a reenactment of the Battle of Mactan, it combined just the right amount of history and flair to make it enjoyable. When we got there, soldiers dressed in Spanish armor were making their way to shore in boatloads. Others had reached land and clashed…
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(Information for this article was provided by Halad Museum curator Audrey Tomada) Halad means “tribute” or “offering” in Cebuano and the Halad Museum of Jose “Dodong” R. Gullas in downtown Cebu City serves to immortalize Cebu’s musical heritage. The museum displays memorabilia of Cebuanos who contributed to the formation of Cebu’s musical culture with their…
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An overnight stay at the Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts-Cebu in Lapu-Lapu City comes with a free sunset cruise for local tourists. The promo is good up to the end of May, said Mövenpick Assistant Director of Communications Joanna Cuenco.
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One event that should not be missed in Cebu this May is the annual Gabii sa Kabilin, which is bigger this year since it will involve 21 heritage sites and include children’s activities as well as an exhibit of Cebuano delicacies. Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, executive director of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI)-Culture and Heritage,…
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What tourists should include in their Cebu to do list is go on a heritage walk. Cebu City’s downtown area is a heritage belt of old churches, houses, and other structures that date back to its colonial Spanish past spanning no less than 300 years. These places are of walking distance from each other and…
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Nature never travels in a straight line and at Hale Manna, which is Hawaiian for House of Good Energy, great pains are taken to ensure that this natural order of things is followed. The ground is uneven and rocky and trees are planted to match this terrain, steps are carved from rocks to serve as…
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Cebu beaches are known for their fine white sand and clear waters. Being in the center of a long and narrow island that is 200 kilometers long and nowhere exceeding 40 kilometers in width, Cebu City is half an hour to a few hours away from white sand beaches, long coastlines, beautiful resorts, and paradise…
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Centuries-old churches of various architectural influences that were built during the Spanish occupation of Cebu can be found along the entire stretch of the mainland and even in satellite islands. A trip down Cebu’s southern part is a glimpse into the religious aspect of Spain’s influence on Cebuano heritage. Spanish period churches in souther towns…
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Cebu is an architectural feast of Spanish period churches in the styles of late Baroque, neoclassical, Greco-Roman, and Gothic or a combination of their elements. The Augustinians came with Spanish conqueror Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to the Philippines through Cebu in 1565 and zealously went about converting people to Christianity. Proof of their fervour is…
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A popular pilgrimage destination of Marian devotees in Cebu is Mary’s shrine in the village of Simala in Sibonga. The shrine is located inside an imposing and huge 3-level concrete structure that Fra. Ma. Martin call as Sanctuary Castle of Mama Mary, which also houses the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist Church. Fra. Ma. Martin,…
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When people talk of diving in Cebu, they usually mention the small town of Moalboal in the province’s southwestern coast that is famous for the thousands of sardines that have come to populate its seas. Italian Sergio Forti, who manages a dive resort named Sampaguita in Moalboal’s Panagsama Beach or what they call Bas Diot…
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Summer, the season for travel, is here. Where do you plan to hie off to? If Singapore is on top of your list, check out the new and popular as well as thematic places and events that it has to offer to tourists. Sherina Chan, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Area Director for the Philippines and…
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A retracing of Cebu’s journey through the years, the people and countries it interacted with, and their influences on the island’s values and beliefs will be the central idea behind the 2012 Sinulog Festival. The theme “One Beat. One Dance. One Vision.” remains the same but the concept changes year by year and it will…
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Cebu’s Fiesta Senyor or feast of the Sto. Nino draws devotees from all over, and thousands converge every January in Cebu City to fulfill a “panaad” (devotion). There are pilgrims, however, who do not have relatives here and cannot afford to pay for rooms so the City Government puts up a “Devotee City” every Sinulog…
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One of Cebu’s most anticipated events, the Sinulog Festival, is drawing close and there is a certain buzz in the island in anticipation of two festival main events – the Solemn Procession and Grand Parade. Since major Cebu City streets will be closed during these two activities and travel by vehicle difficult, a good option…
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This small octagonal structure in downtown Cebu City may appear unimpressive, but it houses a valuable relic and marks an important spot for Cebuanos. Enclosed in tindalo wood inside the octagonal kiosk is what is left of the original cross that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan planted in Sugbu (now Cebu) some 490 years ago. The…
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It may look like any ordinary street but this crowded stretch overflowing with shops, stalls, sidewalk vendors, people, and passenger jeepneys is, believe it or not, the oldest in the Philippines. This thoroughfare in downtown Cebu City known as Colon Street existed way back in time, since Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi commissioned its…
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Cement, iron, and steel come together to form the towering Heritage of Cebu Monument built right on the original Plaza Parian in Cebu City. Conceptualized by multi-awarded sculptor Eduardo Castrillo, the mammoth structure depicts significant moments in Cebu’s history beginning with that fateful fight of April 21, 1521 in the island of Mactan where native…
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Cool and refreshing is how best to describe the emerald water of the Matutinao River that forms what is commonly known as Kawasan Falls as it follows its meandering course to the sea. The river creates no less than eight waterfalls of varying heights but it is only in five that bathing is possible. Kawasan…